Kidogo Shujaa
by toby7400
Summary: Sheva's mother survived the explosion, and is now a notorious warlord.  Can Sheva save her mother?  Creva, Guest Characters, Violence.
1. Kidogo Shujaa

Kidogo Shujaa

Kano and several other Black Dragon members stood waiting as their customers, members of a particularly violent faction called 'Shujaa', approached in technicals* and motorcycles. The arms dealer glanced at the items the Shujaa had requested and assumed a casual stance, making the knives on his boots very visible. Around him, other Black Dragon members brandished assault rifles and SMGs.

As the Kijujan militants shuffled out of their vehicles, Kano got his first good look at the group. They were armed with mostly Eastern Block weapons and dressed in a combination of military and civilian clothing, with traditional necklaces and arm bands mixed in as well. A thin but imposing militant strode up to Kano, a tattooed cutthroat looking fighter at his side.

"I see you have what we asked for," the leader said, pulling a bag filled with diamonds from his coat pocket, "We've got the amount you needed."

Kano, however raised his hand to stopped the Shujaa leader, "Actually, we're gonna need a bit more, mate."

"You damn poomui*." The cutthroat growled, but was silenced by the leader.

"We agreed to this price, this is what we will pay."

"You neglected to tell me this stuff would be so well guarded," Kano stated, "I lost two men gettin' it. For that, I charge extra."

"We didn't think we had to tell you that Umbrella merchandise would be guarded." The leader stated calmly.

"We'll that's you hard luck, idnit?" Kano said, his aggravation growing, "You pay the added costs or I take this elsewhere, savvy?"

Just then, the door to one of the trucks opened and a woman stepped out. She appeared to be in her late forties, with long dreadlocks and a scar over her sightless left eye, the right was brown. The woman wore a slightly too large camouflage jacket and a white tank top under it and a loose ankle length skirt with traditional African designs. She also wore a beaded necklace, two rings on her right hand, a wedding band on her left and satchel bag on her belt.

Kano noticed the woman's confide, authoritative walk as well as the respectful, and fearful, way the Shujaa regarded her, despite her small frame. Clearly this was the real boss, come to lay down the law. Well, Kano would have none of it.

The leader and his cohort stepped aside and the woman addressed Kano simply. "We had a deal; we'll give you what was agreed and not a penny more."

"Listen lady, like I told yer man there, if you want Umbrella's old chemistry set pay up or piss off."

The woman sighed in exasperation, "And there's no way I can change your mind?"

"None."

The woman casually reached into her satchel. Instantly, the Black Dragon guards trained their weapons on her, casing the Shujaa fighters to raise their own arms. Kano's guards lowered their weapons in confusion, however, when she pulled a syringe from it. She rolled up her left sleeve, revealing track marks, and lightly tapped the vein.

"Odd time to mix business and pleasure, aye baby?" Kano asked. Ignoring him, the woman injected herself with the syringe. Beside her, the commander and his man took half a step back. The woman tossed the shot away and looked back at Kano. Both her eyes were red now. "What the hell?"

In an eye blink, the woman was face to face with Kano and had punched him in the chest, breaking two of his ribs. The arms dealer drew one of his knives, but she grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm around and snapping it with her knee.

Meanwhile, the other Black Dragon members had instinctively drawn their weapons on the woman but didn't fire from fear of killing their boss. The Shujaa on the other hand turned their weapons on the Black Dragon. As the brief fire fight went on around her, the woman drove her sandaled foot into Kano's stomach casing him to cough up blood, and pulled a berretta from inside the arm's dealer's vest. Aiming and firing faster than a person should be able; the woman dispatched several Black Dragon guards.

In a few moments the altercation was over. As her commander approached, the woman fired the last few rounds into the flesh part of Kano's face. "Bit harsh, don't you think, Witch Doctor?" the commander asked casually, accepting the offered berretta.

"You cannot let anyone cross you and get away with it, Induna." The Witch Doctor stated flatly, "Besides, this way we get the samples and files for free, and a few new weapons and vehicles to boot." She picked up Kano's knives and grinned, "I like these."

#*#*#

Chris and Sheva walked up the steps to a simple house in London. Strange as it seemed to the Raccoon City survivor, Chris was nervous. Sensing his apprehension, Sheva laid a comforting hand on his arm. "Don't worry, Chris, the Vandys will love you."

Sheva knocked when the agents got to the door, and moments later a large but kind looking African man answered. Seeing Sheva, the man beamed and pulled her into a welcoming hug. Finally, Sheva pulled herself free and turned to her partner turned lover. "Chris, this is Solomon Vandy," Sheva introduced, then with a mischievous smirk added, "The camera man."

Solomon rolled his eyes and held his hand out to Chris. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Redfield, Sheva has told me a lot about you."

"The pleasure's mine, sir." Chris said, shaking Solomon's hand, "I saw you speak in Kimberley."

Solomon waved his hand dismissively and beckoned them inside. As Chris followed them in, he noticed several pictures mounted on the wall; a kind looking African man with his arm in a sling, a smiling American woman between a pair of scowling heavily armed militants, a troubled looking young man, and a family portrait of Sheva and the Vandies.

"That's Benjamin Kapanay," Solomon explained, referring to the man with the sling, "He helped bring Sheva and my son, Dia, 'back to life' as he liked to put it."

"He has a mission for rehabilitating child soldiers," Sheva explained, "It's were I met Dia."

Solomon pointed to the woman with the militants, "That's Ms. Bowen, a friend of the family." Lastly, Solomon pointed to the man, "And that's Mr. Archer."

"He tried to use Solomon to make money off a pretty pink diamond he'd found." Sheva said.

"Sheva," Solomon lightly scolded, "Archer did some bad things, but he wasn't a bad man." Sheva seemed to think on it for a moment, then shrugged her agreement. Solomon turned back to Chris "Now then, I'll introduce you to the rest of the family."

Chris followed Solomon and Sheva into the living room, where a woman with braided hair and a young girl were waiting. "Chris, this is my wife, Jassie, and my daughter, N'Yanda."

Jassie greeted Chris warmly, while N'Yanda asked Sheva something in Swahili. The older girl blushed and lightly smacked her adoptive sister's arm in response. Once she'd regained her composure, Sheva turned to Solomon, "Where's Dia?"

"He wanted to come, but he has an important project at Medical School." Jassie explained. Dia Vandy had committed himself to becoming a doctor after the Vandies had moved to England, after everything Solomon had gone through for him, the young man felt he owed it to his father.

The evening passed pleasantly as everyone talked, joked, and eventually sat down for dinner. Afterward, N'Yanda excused herself to meet with her friends, and Jassie and Sheva strolled onto the back porch, chatting in Swahili, leaving Chris and Solomon alone.

"Sheva seems quite taken with you, Chris." Solomon said casually, offering the younger man a Corona. _Oh, boy_, Chris thought as he accepted the drink. "There was a man back in Sierra Leone, called himself General Poison," the fisherman said conversationally, "he hurt Dia and threatened Jassie and N'Yanda. I smashed his skull with a shovel." Chris felt a chill run down his spin as Solomon held out his bottle, showing he got the message by clicking it with his own and they both drank.

Shortly afterward, Sheva and Jassie returned. "It's getting late, we really should get going." Sheva said before hugging Solomon again, "It was great to see you."

"Oh, Sheva, before you go," Jassie called as she quickly made her way into her and Solomon's room. She returned moments later with an intricate, beaded necklace. "We found this the other day, we thought you should take it."

Sheva somberly accepted the necklace, turning to her adoptive parents, "I thought I'd lost this, thank you."

Later, at their shared hotel room, Chris emerged from the shower to find Sheva looking intently at the necklace. "You mind telling me about it?" he asked.

"It…it belonged to my mother." Sheva explained, a tear threatening to fall. "She used to call me 'Kidogo Shujaa', her little warrior." Chris sat down next to Sheva and wrapped his arm around her as she cried.

#*#*#

Technical-A civilian vehicle converted for military use, such as adding armor or mounting weapons.

Poomui-African slur for white people.


	2. Meet the Witch Doctor

Meet the Witch Doctor

Chris and Sheva, freshly back from London, strolled through the BSAA West Africa Branch Main Office. Having lost more than half the WA Branch's manpower in the mission against Wesker, the office was filled with agents 'on lone' from other branches, including familiar faces like Barry and Carlos, now partnered with a recently recovered Jill. In addition, Leon had temporarily been reassigned there as well.

The partners walked into Josh's office, "Welcome back, guys, how was London?" Josh asked, somewhat cryptically.

Chris and Sheva's relationship violated BSAA regulations, and they weren't sure how much the captain knew and how much he ignored. "It was fun showing Chris around the jolly old." Sheva said with a smile.

"Good to hear, take a seat," having apparently made the couple sweat to a satisfactory degree, Josh's tone became serious, "We have a new assignment for you. Have you ever heard of a militia that call themselves 'Shujaa'?"

"The guerilla group I was forced into had a few run-ins with them," Sheva said, "My captain was terrified of them."

"And with good reason," Josh added, he glanced at an open folder on his desk, then back at Chris and Sheva, "According to this, the Shujaa are responsible for some of the worst atrocities committed in Kijuju for the last five years, and that's saying a lot. They seem to reserve their worst brutality for foreigners and 'slaves' as they like to call anyone that works with foreigners. Last year, they forced a film crew from CNN to show them how to use the camera and filmed themselves torturing the crew and their guide to death."

"So you're sending a foreigner and a local after them; sounds like HQ's normal logic." Chris said stoically.

Josh shook his head and continued, "Last week, the OIA contacted us about an arms deal between the Shujaa and an arms dealing organization called Black Dragon. The merchandise their purchasing is believed to be stolen Umbrella files and samples of Uroboros. I need the two of you to head into the area and check it out. Carlos, Jill, and Leon will be working on a related mission, investigating a suspected Shujaa hideout in the area."

Josh passed them a handful of photos of Shujaa leaders, "These are some of the group's tier one members. Of particular interest are this man," he pointed to an image of thin but commanding man, "Induna Obesanjo; he was an officer in the Kijujan Army about three governments ago. And this man," he pointed to a pictured of a tattooed man with a bloody machete, "Tsotsi; Induna's captain. There are also rumors that the Shujaas are led by a witch doctor. They say she has magical powers, superhuman strength and speed, half a dozen others. A few months ago, I won't give this a second thought, maybe something Induna thought up to scare people. After that last mission, well just be careful."

#*#*#

The Witch Doctor, sporting a new pair of knives, casually strolled into the ruined factory she'd ordered her Shujaa to occupy, near the old Ndipaya underground city. She looked around the building thoughtfully, stopping at one hallway. "I worked in a windowless office right down there when I was first hired." She said casually, "My husband and I; we hoped we could make a better world for our Kidogo Shujaa."

Beside her, Induna watched with interest. The Witch Doctor was known for literally tearing her enemies, and the odd subordinate, to pieces. This show of her soft side was not to be missed. He gently patted her arm and said, "Now you'll make a new world with your Kubwa Shujaa*."

The Witch Doctor graced Induna with a hint of a smile, then noticed some of her fighters straining to hold the samples they'd acquired. She led them deeper into the facility, eventually stopping deep in the bowels of the building. She looked around in thought, "Its right around here…there!"

Pulling an old ID card from her satchel, The Witch Doctor tossed an old picture from the wall to reveal a scanner. She held her card up, were upon the old scanner beeped to life. "Olivia Alomar, clearance level five," an electric voice monotoned, "Access granted."

Olivia put the card away as the wall opened to reveal a large, blast proof door. She stopped short, however, when she noticed three empty hollows that looked like some kind of emblems could be slide into each one. "You've got to be kidding me." Olivia growled.

"What, what's wrong?" Induna asked, confused.

"I hate Umbrella," Olivia fumed, resisting the urge to rip one of her dreadlocks out, "Spread out, look in every nook and cranny."

About an hour later, they'd found all three emblems; one looked like a lion, one like a Zulu shield, and the last like a Gorilla. Tsotsi placed them in the hollows, the door finally slid open and the militants entered the old lab. Besides layers of dust, most of the equipment was in good condition. It was now slightly out of date, but it would meet Olivia's needs.

"Put the samples over there," The Witch Doctor ordered, gesturing to containment equipment, "Set the files on my old desk."

At the same time, another Shujaa entered the room and walked up to Induna, "Sir, the Majini have been raising hell all over the country. Our brothers in the city are nearly overrun."

As Induna ordered Tsotsi to deal with the Majini, Olivia strutted to her old desk, the dust covered picture of her family right where she'd left it. It felt oddly good to be back where she'd been fifteen years before.

#*#*#

Chris stood in the men's locker-room checking his gear. Beside him, Carlos and Leon were doing the same. "Those show-jas scare the crap out of me," Carlos said, "Viruses and genetic-monsters are one thing, but dark magic? I was raised Catholic, I can't have any part of that crap."

"Oh, come on, Carlos. You don't believe that do you? It's probably just smoke and mirrors," Leon said holstering his Silver Ghost, "And it's pronounced 'Shujaa'."

"I'd still be careful," Chris put in, "Apparently they hatched the hands of government officials for saying 'the future is in our hands'. You guys watch each other's backs out there."

"I bet you'll be watching Sheva's pretty closely," Carlos grinned. Chris simply shrugged and checked his Berretta.

"You do know it risky to dip the pen in company ink?" Leon asked in his usual stoic monotone.

"Calling the kettle black are we?" Carlos murmured. Chris had to admit, seeing Leon's infamous stone face falter was very satisfying. He'd have to be nice to Carlos for a while.

"What, what do you mean?" Leon asked.

"Oh come off it," Chris said with a wave of his hand, "Your little over time deal is about as well kept a secret as the fact that Wesker was an asshole." Chris grabbed the last of his gear and left as Carlos chuckled.

Meanwhile in the women's locker, Sheva and Jill were just finishing their own preparations. Rebecca was also there to wish her friends luck. "You sure you up for this, Jill? This will be your first mission back."

"I appreciate you're the concern, Becky, but I'll be fine."

Beside the two, Sheva was on her hands and knees, praying in the Islamic fashion. Having finished her prayer, she crossed herself and rose to her feet with an 'amen'. Noticing Jill and Rebecca's slightly baffled expressions, Sheva giggled, "My dad was Muslim, Mom was Christian. I turned out a bit of both." She explained with a shrug.

"Well, that's nice," Rebecca said after some thought, "What about the tattoo? It doesn't have anything to do with the guys you're going after does it?"

"No, no. I…think it's about my parents," Sheva explained, a bit embarrassed.

"Wait, you think?" Jill asked, pulling her pail blonde hair into a ponytail.

Sheva hesitated, but finally elaborated, "Well, in college me and a few friends got into some drinking aaaand…I woke up with it on my old nickname on my arm. I like to think I had Mama and Papa on my liquor addled mind."

#*#*#

Kubwa Shujaa-Big Warriors


	3. Back in Friendly Kijuju

Back in Friendly Kijuju

As Carlos, Leon, and Jill approached the city of Koobussberg*, the same town Chris and Sheva had started their last mission in, they could hear gunfire, distant shouting, and other sounds of war. The driver, a young European Branch agent named Capulet, slowed almost to a stop at the sight of several dead Majini that had been hung from power poles. "Welcome to Africa." Carlos said apprehensively.

Jill activated her headset, calling headquarters. "HQ, this whole city's a warzone," she stated as calmly as she could, "requesting mission abort."

"Negative that request," came the voice of whichever bureaucrat was heading things, "With the different factions having at each other, they won't notice three people slip in and out."

"…roger that," Jill sighed, then when she was sure it was off, "Numb nut bastard. When did this even start?"

Beside her, Leon pulled his own radio, which generated Hunnigan's reassuring features. "Ingrid, we all the Intel you can give us about the situation in Koobussberg, Kijuju.

Capulet dropped the three agents off, wishing them luck and driving off a bit too fast for their liking, as Hunnigan worked. "Apparently, the city's been divided into three parts for some time. The Government controls the administrative distract and surrounding area in the northeast of the city, protected by a fortified wall. The Majini occupy the Marketplace and nearby slums in the south, and the Shujaa control a small part of the business and some residential area in the western part of the city. Reports form Terra Save say tensions between the three factions have been high and exploded just this morning."

"You guys catch that?" Leon asked the BSAA agents.

"She mumbles a little, but I got the general idea." Carlos said, prompting an indignant reply from Hunnigan. He turned the safety off his M4 and turned to Jill, "I got your back, partner."

"What about me?" Leon asked

"You'll be fine," Carlos smirked. The trio cautiously made their way through the city, carful of the battle raging only blocks away.

Around half-way to the designated building they were to investigate, three trucks loaded with Government troops came barreling down the road, nearly running Leon down. The soldiers would have continued as though nothing had happened, but the lead truck was hit by an RPG round. An instant later, Shujaa fighters emerged all over the surrounding rooftops, and several echnical loaded with Shujaa emerged from around buildings.

Carlos fired at militants, only to be pulled into cover by Jill before rounds from the soldiers could hit him. "We're on your side, assholes!" he yelled. He prepared to fire again, when he noticed a large crowd of Majini moving down the street, over running several militants and then turning on the soldiers. The Hispanic agent noticed a small building that didn't seem occupied and turned to his friends. "Guys, we can hideout in that shop! I'll cover you two, then you stop and cover me half way there." Jill and Leon went to obey, when Carlos grabbed Jill by the arm. "You're not just gonna run to the shop; you _are_ going to turn around and cover me. It's important you remember that."

Jill gave her worried partner an amused grin, "Don't worry, Carlos, I won't leave you hanging." She and Leon sprinted toward the store while Carlos fared a burst of rounds at anyone that might notice them. At the halfway point, Jill stopped to cover her partner as promised, while Leon went directly to the store to cover both of them.

As Carlos dashed toward her, Jill cut down two Shujaa with her Scorpions. He was almost to her when Jill noticed a Majini in the corner of her eye and a soldier taking aim at Carlos. Raising both weapons at once, Jill dispatched the Majini with her right SMG, then the soldier with her left, firing directly over Carlos' shoulder.

"Nice shooting," Leon commented as the partners rushed up to him together.

"Enhanced speed," Jill explained while checking the door to the shop, "One of the few good side effects of my time with Wesker."

"Your new look being another," Carlos said without looking away from the now chaotic battle.

"Thanks," Jill noticed the door was dead bolted and casually kicked it open, "I'm stronger then I was before, too."

As Jill moved into the shop, Carlos turned to Leon and said, "I say her first," then followed her into the building. Leon rolled his eyes and went in last, closing and barricading the door as best he could.

The trio quickly began to search the building for hostiles. Leon was about to declare the building clear when noticed a slightly incognito door leading to a basement. Silver Ghost ate the ready, the young government agent led the way down the stairs. Spotting a figure standing behind a counter, Leon raised his weapon on the man, but frozen when he heard a familiar creepy chuckle. "Welcome back, strangah."

#*#*#

Outside the city, Sheva and Chris approached the area they'd been told the arms deal was to happen. Sheva pulled her Dragunov rifle off her back and used it as a telescope to survey the area. The first things she saw were dead bodies. "What is it?" Chris asked when he noticed his partner's expression.

"I think we missed the deal," Sheva said plainly. She re-slung her rifle and drew her berretta, "C'mon, let's check it out."

The two agents cautiously moved toward the scene, finally arriving to find a scene of day old carnage. The Black Dragon members looked like they'd been shot from very close range with high powered weapons, some appeared to of been finished off with machetes. One body with a large cyborg implant on his face was particularly mangled.

Chris looked to his partner; Sheva had a look of frustrated exasperation. "You okay?" he asked.

"I am sick of all the killing, Chris. This whole country is drowning in blood; my people deserve better." Sheva took a breath to calm herself, "Tire tracks look like the militants headed west from here. Let's check it, out."

"Roger, that," Chris said, he activated his headset, "HQ, the Intel was a bust, but we have a trail on the Shujaa, we're gonna see what we find." He shot the headset off without waiting for a response and headed after Sheva.

The two agents traveled for around and hour when they came across a village. From the look of things, the people seemed poor but content. Many of them seemed to ignore the agents, Chris noticed a woman pull her daughter into their home upon seeing him.

The only one to directly acknowledge the armed outsiders was an old man sitting outside his house when they approached. "Hello friends are you lost?" he asked in Swahili, he leaned close to Sheva and added, "Sister, tell the mzungo* not to shoot me."

"He won't hurt you old man," Sheva said compassionately, "We tracking some people that came down this road toward Koobussberg."

The old man looked shocked, "You don't want to go that way! The Shujaa are in the next village." He warned, "Their witch doctor put a curse on my brother. Ever since, he's been like an empty shell."

"Don't worry, old man, we're trained to deal with unusual happenings." Sheva reassured. She patted the man's arm and continued, as Sheva and her partner walked off he stared after them with a look of concern.

"What'd he say?" Chris asked, gesturing to the elder.

"He said we're going the right way."

#*#*#

Olivia looked over the office she'd once shared with her husband, Mo'alim. The double bed that had been added in case of an all-nighter was even still in the corner. The Witch Doctor was on her second day without sleep, and the old bed looked very inviting. She pulled her camouflage jacket off, revealing the burn scars that trailed down her left arm. Olivia next set her belt and satchel on the desk and removed her sandals and skirt. She took the picture of her with Mo'alim and Sheva from her desk and sank down onto the bed, examining the photo.

Mo'alim smiled pleasantly; while five year old Sheva looked just a little impatient. She probably wished her uncle would just take the picture so she could play. Olivia smiled until she noticed the image of herself. She wore a crucifix back then; she also had two working eyes and no scars. She hadn't killed anyone yet either, and was still naïve enough to believe her work with Umbrella would benefit the people of Africa.

Induna walked in to see the Witch Doctor half-dressed and on the bed. The commander smiled, it seemed he'd get to perform his favorite duty. Setting his Kalashnikov on the desk, he sat down next to Olivia and tried to wrap his arm around her shoulders, but she slapped it away. "Not now, Induna."

Induna pulled back with a disappointed sigh, then noticed the picture Olivia was looking at. At last, the commander got a look at the man he could never compete with. He's dead, been dead near fifteen years, Induna thought bitterly. He knew it was wrong to think like that, but then knowing something was wrong hadn't stopped him from doing far worse things in the past. He was afraid of the Witch Doctor, only a fool wouldn't be, but he also respected her. Strange as it seemed, his feeling might have even gone deeper. The militant leader and the Witch Doctor, he thought, how romantic.

Induna rose from the bed and turned to his leader, "The Buzz-saw* has been sniffing around, I'll see that they don't find anything." He glanced Olivia's daughter in the photo, "She has your eyes."

#*#*#

Meanwhile, a group of fourteen mercenaries sat waiting on the deck of an old ship. Finally, Excella Gionne walked into view, now dressed in a battlesuit and flanked by HUNK. "Greetings, gentlemen," she said pleasantly, "I have a business proposition for you."

#*#*#

Koobussberg-A major city in Northern Kijuju, Koobussberg was founded by Dutch settlers and has long been a center for trade in the region.

Mzungo-African term for white people, can be used as a term of endearment (though I could be wrong)

Buzz-saw-Phonetic pronunciation BSAA, used as a slang term for the agency by various groups, mostly people they target.


	4. Family Reunion

Family Reunion

Chis and Sheva had followed the Shujaa's trail to the outskirts of Koobussberg. In the distance, the partners could hear the vicious street battle still raging. The two agents cautiously ducked behind a bullet ridden wall when they spotted a group of Shujaa standing watch at a crossroads.

Sheva scanned the area with her Dragunov. "Looks like six of them," she said, "A few shots should get them to scatter."

"Try to wound one of them," Chris advised, "Then we can get some Intel that's actually useful." Scanning the sentries, Sheva noticed the one wearing a do-rag seemed to be in charge. Sighting on his left shin, she took a breath and slowly squeezed the trigger.

The Dragunov kicked and through the scope, Sheva saw a satisfying pink mist appear behind the leader's leg before he dropped with a surprised yell. The other five Shujaa quickly ducked behind a burned out car. "Got him," Sheva announced, "the others are taking cover behind the burned Mercedes. I'll cover you."

"Roger," Chris checked his shotgun and dashed toward an abandoned truck. He noticed the militants rise to fire at him, but ducked back down after another shot from Sheva hit one in the face. Chris crouched behind the truck and took aim at the militants. "Suppressing fire!"

As Chris pelted the militant's position with shotgun slugs, Sheva darted toward a wall across the street from her partner. As she ran, Sheva noticed shadows in one of the empty shops she passed seemed to move. Her experience in guerrilla tactics kicking in, Sheva glanced around and noticed other telltale signs of trouble. "It's a trap!"

At that moment, twenty Shujaa gunmen emerged from the supposed derelict buildings and alley ways. As the sentries moved to help their leader, both agents we herded into the middle of the street at gun point as a thin man Chris recognized as Induna approached. "I am impressed," the commander said, "Usually, no one notices us until we've blasted them full of lead. Hand over your weapons, only use two fingers."

Once Chris was fully disarmed, Induna strolled up and plucked his headset off as well. "Won't be needing this," he said as two militants seized Sheva.

Chris immediately moved to intervene, but was himself restrained, though with more difficulty. "Keep your damn hands off her!" Chris snarled at the leering militants.

"Don't worry, master, we'll be nice to your cute little slave." Induna said with false reassurance. As Chris redoubled his efforts to get free, Induna strode up to Sheva. The BSAA agent relaxed, causing her captors to loosen their grip slightly. The commander was almost in range for a somersault kick. Sheva subtly shifted her weight in preparation.

Just as Induna was about to reach for Sheva's headset, the one he'd taken from Chris crackled to life and a man's voice could be heard. "Agent Redfield, Agent Alomar, come in!"

_Alomar?_ Induna thought. He looked up at the girl his men were restraining; she looked back with defiance hazel eyes. The commander had seen eyes like that before, or rather, an eye. "You Sheva Alomar?"

Both agents stilled at the unexpected question. Finally, Sheva recovered enough to answer. "Yes, how do you know my name?"

"I know your mother," Induna stated, becoming surer by the moment.

"You're mad," Sheva sneered, "My mother's dead."

"No, no," Induna said shaking his head, "She's alive, and misses her kidogo shujaa something fierce." His use of her childhood nickname stunned Sheva into silence. Smiling, Induna snatched Sheva's headset and turned to his men. "Let's go brothers! Any man leaves a mark on the girl; I'll cut his heart out."

"What about the chicken skin*?" one Shujaa asked.

Induna thought for a moment, and then noticed the way the two agents looked at each other. "Bring him, too."

#*#*#

Leon lowered his Silver Ghost as he approached the Merchant. He looked over his shoulder to see Jill and Carlos still had their weapons trained on the arms dealer. "It's alright, guys," Leon said with a wave of his hand, "This guy's on the level…I think."

"Heh heh heh, just can't stay out of trouble, can ya, strangah?" the Merchant asked, "I got some good things ya might be interested in, what with the war goin' on upstairs an' all."

The three agents looked around and, true to his word, the merchant had more weapons and ammo then they could hope to carry. "Just one problem, we don't have any money this time." Leon stated.

The Merchant stroked his scarfed chin as he considered this, then Leon was sure a smile spread under the scarf. "Ya threw a lotta business my way in Spain, strangah, I'd say that's earned ya some credit."

#*#*#

Excella casually sat in the front of a truck she'd 'commandeered' from the Kijujan Army, HUNK beside her driving. Excella glanced over her shoulder at her new hired guns.

From the UK was Luis, former SAS, Bedford, a sniper, Wells of the Royal Marines, and Maxwell, a paratrooper. From America was Cho, Menendez, and Wolfe, all ex-army, Ives, a former marine, and Jones of the Green Berets. Then there was François of the Foreign Legion and Daskal of Russia's VDV. Lastly were the Africans, local guide and former child soldier Kahega, and last was Rensburg, a white South African who had served in the Three Two Battalion and MNU's 1st Reaction Battalion, one of the few that survivors of The Battle of District 9.

_All very good at killing_, Excella thought, _much better than feral kaffirs*._ Just then, an agonizing pain shot through Excella's stomach. Writhing, the woman quickly reached into the webbing on her belt. She seized a container of pills and quickly swallowed two of them. A short while later, Excella was fine, though breathing deeply. _Fuck you, Albert_, the heiress thought, _I think I'll spare those two just for killing you._

"You alright?" HUNK asked, no hint of concern in his voice.

"Fine," Excella breathed, putting her pills back in their pouch. Leaning back in her seat, Excella's resolve grew. She would get her hands on the Witch Doctor's project, and she would become a queen.

#*#*#

Tsotsi reloaded his AKM and fired a burst at the hoard of Majini besieging the house he and a dozen other Shujaa had taken shelter in. The militant captain glanced over to see two Shujaa fire RPG-7s at the hoard. There were still dozens outside, trying to bash their way in with various melee weapons or pelting the building with flaming arrows and Molotov cocktails.

Hearing glass shatter, Tsotsi and two other Shujaa rushed up the stairs. The captain entered a room to see a Majini clawing his way in through a window. Tsotsi drew his machete and brought it down on the Majini's skull. Tossing the body aside, the militant tossed the ladder down and fired at the Majini gathered around the bottom.

"They're like cockroaches!" Tsotsi yelled in frustration. Down below, two Cephalos and a chainsaw wielding majini rushed at the building. The captain blasted the chainsaw majini, only for his psychotic enemy to shrug it off. Tsotsi emptied the rest of his clip into the chainsaw man, finally killing him. One of the Cephalos was dead, but the other had impaled a Shujaa.

Tsotsi rushed back down the stairs to find two militants firing at the body, doing little damage. The captain seized an RPG from one of his men and fired at the base of the Cephalo's neck, blasting it to bits of burnt flesh.

The Shujaa retook their positions around the building and waiting for the next wave of majini. Tsotsi kept his head down for several moments, but the shouts had dissipated, and now fresh Molotov or arrows came through the windows or many holes in the walls. He cautiously looked over the wall to see the Majini were retreated, likely to return when they'd gathered more fighters. "Not as stupid as they look," Tsotsi growled. The captain turned to his remaining fighters; they were exhausted and low on ammo. "We're getting the hell out of here."

"Some of our brothers are gathered in the department store down the street, sir." One fighter suggested.

"I mean all the way out of here," Tsotsi said, "We're gonna gather up all our brothers and leave. The Majini can have this graveyard."

#*#*#

Induna walked into the Witch Doctor's office and found her fast asleep. Glancing at her desk he noticed a used syringe and sighed. Olivia had many specially made shots, and one was for inducing a deep, peaceful sleep. He shook the Witch Doctor and sure enough, she simply murmured and settled back done.

Undeterred, the commander simply returned to the desk and looked through Olivia's satchel. Finally, he found the red syringe that contained the injection for rousing deep sleepers. Induna unceremoniously jabbed Olivia in the thigh with the injection, causing the Witch Doctors eyes to bulge open and for Olivia to jump up with a shout at the sudden rush.

"What the hell, Induna?" Olivia asked angrily.

"I got something for you." The commander said with confidence.

"Can't it wait?" Olivia asked, baffled. Induna merely shook his head and gestured intently for her to follow him out of her old office. Sighing in exasperation, Olivia took several deep breaths to calm her breathing. She then pulled on her skirt and sandals, and followed Induna out of her office as she pulled on her jacket.

Outside, Sheva waited nervously. The Shujaa commander had to of been lying, she'd seen the factory were her parents worked, where she now stood, burning after the explosion. Now she stood in some sort of old Umbrella high level lab, alone with several armed militants. Chris had been dragged off to some other part of the facility.

As one of her guards gave Sheva yet another look that made her want to pull her cloths tighter, the door to the office Induna had disappeared into opened. The commander entered the room followed by a woman. For a few brief seconds, Sheva was confused about how she recognized the woman, then she froze in realization. "…mama?"

Olivia froze as well, Sheva had only been eight the last time they were together, but a mother always recognized her child. "Shujaa wangu kidogo, nimekuwa missed sana."*

#*#*#

Chicken Skin-yet another African slur for white people.

Kaffir-African slur for black people

Shujaa wangu kidogo, nimekuwa missed sana-My little warrior, I've missed you so much.


	5. Catching Up

Catching up

Olivia hugged her daughter for the first time in fifteen years. She'd dreamed of this reunion many times, though her dreams hadn't involved armed guards. The Witch Doctor felt a tear run down her cheek and the moister on her shoulder told her Sheva was similarly overwhelmed. She looked around and noticed the surprised gawks they were getting from her fighters. After sending them a stern glare she gently pulled Sheva toward her office, sending Induna a quick, grateful look.

Once mother and daughter were alone, Olivia held Sheva at arms' length. Sheva had become a beautiful young woman with the look of a warrior. The word was even tattooed on her shoulder.

Sheva looked back with sparkling eyes. Her mother had the same dreadlocks she remembered, although slightly longer. However, Olivia also had a scar from her forehead, over her left eye and down her check. Sheva gently reached forward and traced her finger along the scar. "Where have you been all this time, mama? What are you doing with these killers?"

#*#*#

Umbrella's Kijuju Facility, 1988

Olivia and Mo'alim walked through the halls of the facility toward the lab, just as they would on any other day. Olivia was reaching into her new satchel for her ID card when a low rumble shook the building. "What was that?" she asked, seeing her husband's worried expression.

The next thing Olivia knew, Mo'alim had grabbed her by the wrist and they were both running back up the way they'd come. Around the couple, other workers were trying to make their way out as well. Suddenly, a deafening blast tore through the building. Mo'alim shoved Olivia into a nearby room, just before the he was hit by the force of the explosion.

Before Olivia could register what was happening, she was hit in the face by a piece of shrapnel destroying her left eye. Moments later, the flames from the explosion licked at her body, severely burning her left arm. Olivia hit the ground hard and rolled a few feet, just before passing out from the pain.

When Olivia woke up half her face and most of her left arm covered by bandages. After waiting for her vision to come back into focus, Olivia glanced around to find she was alone. After a few minutes, a nurse entered to check on the injured woman. "Oh, you're awake," the nurse stated the obvious.

"Where's my husband?" Olivia asked, her voice slightly slurred, "Mo'alim Alomar."

"I'm sorry, I'd have to look at the hospital's files," something in the nurse's sympathetic tone gave Olivia the feeling she should expect the worst. "I'll get the doctor assigned to you, he can tell you more then I can."

The nurse disappeared, returning minutes later with a man, presumably her doctor. "I'm Dr. Mombota," the man introduced himself, "You've been unconscious for three days. I'm sorry to say your husband was killed in the blast."

Olivia fell back on her bed at the news, sobbing silently. Mombota wasn't able to give her any news on Sheva and left Olivia to her grief. Olivia spent around another month in the hospital before Mombota agreed to release her. The medical bills had virtually wiped out her savings.

As quickly as possible, Olivia made her way back to her hometown and learned that Sheva had been sent to live with her brother. However, her last hope to see her child was dashed almost instantly when Jonah told her Sheva had run away.

For months, Olivia was unreachable, more than once pondering the best way to end her own life. Before she could go through with her plans, however, the sectarian strife that had plagued Kijuju for years spilled over into Koobussberg.

In the chaos, Olivia was separated from Jonah and his family, only to be captured by one of the warring factions. One of her captors dragged Olivia away from his comrades, making no effort to hide his intention of raping her. And that's when something changed in the woman.

In the blink of an eye, Olivia had lost her husband, her child, her home and there hadn't been anything she could have done about it. Now, a nameless rebel was about to take her body, but there was something she could do about it. Olivia fought the man with everything she was worth; scratching, biting, kicking, anything. Finally, she'd managed to get a hold of a knife on the man's belt and continued to stab him long after he'd stopped fighting back, and breathing.

And thus began the rise of the Witch Doctor. Olivia murdered the rest of her would-be rapist's comrades, taking their weapons and arming a handful of other disgruntled refugees. From that moment on, Olivia would never allow anyone to cross her. To make up for her fledgling faction's small size, Olivia made use of terror tactics, including amateur bio-warfare; mostly malaria in the early days.

As time went on, Olivia and her faction, now called 'The Shujaa', grew in power. Before long, their actions got the attention of the Army, and troops were sent to dispatch them. Lacking real military knowledge, Olivia soon found herself and her fighters trapped by a company of soldiers. "Captain Obesanjo!" the major shouted, "Move in, kill them all."

The captain wasn't tall or large, but carried himself in a way that commanded attention and respect. He seemed hesitant to attack the militant, though Olivia didn't think he was afraid. The major again barked at Obesanjo to attack, whereupon he turned his weapon on the officer. As the captain cut down his erstwhile commander, several soldiers moved to kill him, only to be cut down by troops loyal to the captain. In the wake of the small scale civil war, Olivia gained her top commander; she preferred his first name, Induna.

Olivia wasn't sure who'd originally coined her nickname, 'The Witch Doctor', but she rather liked it and played to the title. Her 'magic' grew more frightening and powerful the more access she had to black-market Umbrella merchandise. The Witch Doctor's efforts reached a new level when she acquired one of Wesker's injections and so gained superhuman abilities. She'd been able to make several more, and even devised new injections for different situations.

Between her new injections and the sudden arrival of the Majini, Olivia took a great interest in uroboros. If she could get her hands on samples of the substance, and modify them just right, Olivia could take control of all Africa. The Witch Doctor could finally make her new world.

#*#*#

"I've been very busy, dear," Olivia answered simply.


	6. Uninvited Guests

Uninvited Guests

Author's Note-Just like to thank everyone that favorited and commented, inspiring me to dust off my stories and start writing again. Hopefully, I can get back into the swing of it.

Chris sat on the floor propped up against a wall, having given up on trying to get the door open. The burly agent had been put into some kind of pen or holding cell. What Umbrella had kept in there, he didn't know, nor was he eager find out.

Chris let out an exasperated sigh. He didn't know where the militants had taken Sheva, and after the way many of them had looked at her, just the thought of what they might be doing to her made his fists tighten in helpless rage.

Chris had volunteered to stay on with the West Africa Branch after the semi-disastrous mission against Wesker, with Sheva as his partner. Between subsequent missions, the two had gotten to know each other and grown closer. Chris still wondered if it had been wise to introduce Sheva to Claire when Terrasave came to provide humanitarian aid to the area. His partner and sister had become friends almost immediately, which in turn brought Chris much grief.

The turning point from friendship to romance had been the "Moscow Incident". The BSAA had reports of a Plagas outbreak in Russia and as the most experienced agents with the BOWs reported to be in the area, Chris and Sheva had been flown out to deal with the situation.

Only to find the Russian Army had already massacred the infected and Umbrella members alike.

With the mission scraped, Chris and Sheva had been left stranded in Moscow for just over a week until BSAA could arrange transport for them. The Muscovites were reasonably friendly toward Chris, and after he punched a man's teeth out for making a 'monkey joke' toward Sheva as well.

For her part, Sheva often found herself literally clinging to Chris. Having spent most of her life in Western Africa, she did not take to the cold well. Sure, she'd spent a few years in the UK, but winter in London wasn't as bad as Moscow in February*. Chris was more than happy to share his body heat, and found he rather liked the feel of her body pressed up against his.

After a few days, the agents had decided to sample the Moscow nightlife. They returned to their hotel slightly tipsier then they'd intended, and tightly braced together against the cold. With the help of Liquid Courage, Chris was a bit bolder then he'd normally have been, one thing lead to another-

CLANG!

Chris was suddenly pulled out of his reverie when the old bolt on the door loudly unlocked and the door swung leisurely open. Induna casually strolled in, flanked by scowling Kalashnikov wielding militants. The commander smiled down at Chris and said, "Enjoying your stay, master? We like to make our guests comfortable."

"Where the hell is Sheva?" Chris barked, raising to his feet, "I swear if you-"

"Relax, master," Induna said, raising a soothing hand, "Nobody'd dare touch the Witch Doctor's little girl. On that note, you should probably worry about yourself."

"What are you talking about?"

"A few years back, some agent type like you came sniffing around after us; the Witch Doctor did things that took two days to kill the bastard." One of the commander's guards chuckled at the memory, "And you come in here with her little girl on a leash…heheh, you are one brave white man."

"Her little girl? What are you talking about?" Chris asked, "What the hell is going on?!"

"That girl, Sheva, she's the Witch Doctor's Daughter," Induna explained, enjoying Chris's confused look, "I swear, she look just like her mama."

Chris was still having trouble wrapping his head around the situation. "This doesn't make any sense, Sheva said her parents were killed, nearly everyone in the building died when this place went up."

"She's a tough lady," Induna agreed with a shrug, "Pretty soon, her new world will be in the making."

At that comment, Chris turned to the commander. Induna wasn't like any bio-terrorist Chris had ever encountered. He carried himself with calm dignity, he commanded genuine respect from his men, and he didn't have a trace of the greed and self-importance Wesker and his cadre had always oozing form every pore. In sort, he seemed like just the kind of person Chris would expect to fight against terrorists.

"Why are you doing this?" Chris asked earning a questioning look from Induna, "You were a soldier, can't you see you're just making things worse?* We're trying to help you!"

"Help?" Induna scoffed, his mocking tone gone, "Your kind of help would take ten years to do anything! I know, when I joined the army everywhere I looked it was same as it is now; starving babies with flies in their eyes, little girls being raped and hacked apart, and twelve year olds with Kalashnikovs. And at the rate the Buzzsaw and those that came before were going, it'd be twenty years before things got any better. Then the Witch Doctor came. She has a vision for Africa, and she gets things done. That's why I left the army and joined her, that's why I'm here."

Before Chris could respond, a young Shujaa appeared in the doorway. "Excuse me sir, but Tsotsi's back, he says he needs to talk to you."

"Tell him I'll be right there," Induna said without looking away from Chris, "We'll talk more later, master." With that, he turned and left with his guards.

#*#*#

"Say hello to my little friend!" Carlos shouted as he fired a round from his new grenade launcher at a cluster of Majini, blasting them apart.

Leon rolled his eyes as he reloaded his newly acquired Uzi. Beside him, Jill took careful aim at, and shot, an army sniper with her Dragunov. "Can't believe that man just gave us this stuff." She said, "Did he really think he'd see us again, with all that's happening?"

"Oh, we'll see him again," Leon said, pulling a bag of local currency from a fallen Majini, "We'll go into a cave, or a fortress, or something and there he'll be with a whole shop all set up, and a couple of blue fire torches. Just wait."

The three agents scanned the area to find an eerie calm had fallen over the area. Taking advantage of the lull in the fighting, they began quickly making their way to their original target. As they did, Leon connected with Hunnigan. "Ingrid, has there been any word from Chris and Sheva?"

"BSAA says they're target turned out to be a bust," Hunnigan reported, "They followed a trail left by the Shujaa and near anyone can tell, they're near the city."

"Think we should see if they're okay?" Carlos asked.

"If we can find that hideout, we can probably get an idea where they trailed the Shujaa too." Jill suggested.

Leon considered Jill's suggestion, and finally shrugged. "Screw it, let's do. We'll find the safe house and see where to go from there."

#*#*#

Bedford lay at the top of a hill, Kahega at his side, watching the entrance to Umbrella's old facility through the scope of his rifle. Down below, several technicals loaded with Shujaa arrived, some with captured soldiers in tow. The Shujaa had several sentries around the old factory, and Bedford's fellow mercenaries were spread out ready to spring their assault as soon as he fired his first shot.

Luis and Jones were the closest to the guards, having already slight a few throats to make the going easier for their less stealthy comrades. The rest had set themselves up to catch as many militants in overlapping crossfire as possible. Even so, Bedford could tell it would be a hard fight. _Maybe a few of the yanks will get fragged and my share will get bigger_, the sniper thought.

Setting back into his training, Bedford waited several minutes after the technicals had disappeared into the facility, waiting for the guards to settle back into their routine. Finally picking his target, a spotter in the tallest tower, Bedford exhaled slowly and gently squeezed the trigger.

#*#*#

February-It's the coldest month in Moscow, temperatures often drop to minus 10-15 degrees Celsius.

Just making it worse-Early in development of RE5, Sheva was a member of the local militia who'd been hired to act as Chris's guide. Also, the two didn't like each other at first, with Chris thinking the militia was just making things worse and Sheva thinking the BSAA wasn't doing anything at all. While I adore the version of Sheva we got, I still think it would have been interesting to see some of that debate, and so transferred the dynamic to Chris and Induna.


	7. Rude Interruption

Rude Interruption

Author's Note: Apologies for the slow update. Part of the problem is I'm really not sure where I'm going with this story, and have been kind of making it up as I go. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Anyway, enjoy.

#*#*#

"Where have you been all this time, mama?" Sheva asked, "What are you doing with these killers?"

Olivia looked at her daughter for several long seconds; finally she simply said "I've been very busy, dear,"

"Busy? With what?"

"...let me show you." Olivia led Sheva back into the lab, her fighters still unsure of how to handle the situation. The Witch Doctor finally stopped in front of the tanks holding her samples of Uroboros. When Sheva gasped, Olivia turned to her daughter, "You know what this is, don't you?"

"That's what Wesker nearly used to saturate the whole planet," Sheva said, horrified, "Mama, you need to destroy them!"

"Oh no, I've got big plans for these," Olivia turned to the samples briefly, then looked back to her daughter with a smile, "As it is, you're right, it can't be controlled, but with a little modification..."

Sheva took and involuntary step backward. Her mother was sounding chillingly like Wesker, and the young agent did not like it. "Just what are you planning to do with this, mama?"

"A better world, Sheva, like I always have," Olivia said, slowly closing the gap between them, "With a little tampering, I can make those affected by Uroboros completely obedient. Then, one by one, I infect every warlord, every dictator and every 'democratically elected' president on this blighted continent."

Once they were in arm's length, Olivia gently took her daughter by the shoulders and looker her earnestly in the face, "Think of it! Africa will be controlled by someone who actually gives a damn about it*! I'll have those puppet leaders build roads and schools. I'll put an end all the outsiders stealing Africa's resources. It'll take time, but in the end, we'll finally have a better a better world."

Sheva stared back, her mind fighting itself to make sense of her mother's words. It did sound great, but using the Uroboros? And what if someone less altruistic got their hands on it? The thought of some maniac turning people into his own army of mindless slaves was even scarier than what Wesker had planned.

Sudden movement around the pair brought both out of their thoughts. Shujaa fighters were rushing into and out of the room. Finally, one of them approached the pair. He gave Sheva an awkward nod, and then turned to Olivia. "Witch Doctor, we're under attack! Induna's dealing with the bastards, but we don't know if it's gonna be enough."

"Lock down this room, keep my daughter safe," Olivia ordered, reaching into her satchel, "Anything happens to her, I'll kill every man here."

Hearing this, Sheva thought of Chris. Just as Olivia pulled a syringe from her satchel, Sheva grabbed her mother's arm. "Mama, there was a man with me when..." only then did the realization that her mother was in charge set in, "...well, your men captured us. Please, tell them to let him go."

The Witch Doctor raised an eyebrow at her child. Finally, she said, "We'll talk about that later, little warrior." she held up the syringe for Sheva see and grinned, "First, I seem to have some business to deal with."

#*#*#

Induna walked into the facility's old garage to see Tsotsi and his men unloading from their technicals and shoving frightened prisoners up against a nearby wall. As the commander approached, the captain turned to him in greeting, "The whole city's a damn mess, sir, we barely got outta there!"

"So I see," Induna said as watched the scene around him unfold, "How many did we lose?"

"Twenty-five, maybe thirty killed, and the Army captured a dozen or so more." Tsotsi reported. Meanwhile, the captain's men taunted and kicked the kneeling prisoners.

"So you snatched a few of their boys." Induna observed, "How soon you think we can arrange a trade?"

"Tomorrow if we send one of 'em back with another's head." Tsotsi drew his machete as he spoke and turned toward the prisoners.

Induna put a firm hand on the captain's shoulder, "It's not a bad idea, but we'd lose leverage giving up two prisoners, and with all that's going the one we send could take a while to get back to his commanders, or run off."

The commander released Tsotsi and continued, "We caught a Buzzsaw sniffing around, we get word to them, they'll make the Army give us whatever we want. But even better, we found the Witch Doctor's-"

BOOOM!

Suddenly the garage shook and the sound of gunfire sounded from outside.

"Tsotsi! Take your boys and the prisoners down below!" Induna said as unslung his Kalashnikov and moved toward the garage entrance. "I'll deal with whatever the fuck is going on outside."

#*#*#

Josh sat at his desk across from Rebecca and Barry frustratedly looking through the at best inconclusive reports on the ever deteriorating situation. Unable to contain his aggravation any longer, the captain slammed the offending document on his desk, hissing "DAMMIT!"

Rebecca flinched at Josh's outburst, and Barry gingerly rose to his feet. "I've got a couple bottles of bourbon in my office." He said calmingly "What say we take the edge off?" the older man looked to Rebecca for support.

"Yeah, Hunnigan will let us know if anything new turns up." the young medic chimed in.

Josh leaned on his arm pinching the bridge of his nose, but made a vaguely affirmative sound. As Barry left and Rebecca continued her well-meaning coos and reassurances Josh's mind was still on the FUBARed mission and his missing surrogate sister Sheva. It was times like this Josh wished he could still handle things the way he used to. _If Barry knew what kind of man I am, he wouldn't have left me alone with this girl_, he thought looking at Rebecca.

Before joining the BSAA to avoid life in prison, Josh had been a commander for the West African Liberation Front, whose name sounded infinitely nobler then they actually were. Josh had done things he was ashamed to think of; torture, mass murder, cannibalism, the list went on. It was during his time as a trainer, especially when he met Sheva, that Josh began to turn over a new leaf.*

_We'll play by the rules a little longer_, Josh thought, _after that, all bets are off._

#*#*#

Excella's mercenaries continued to push the Shujaa deeper into the compound. The heiress herself and HUNK were nowhere to be seen, but that was to be expected. Covered by Bedford, they advanced on the militants and had taken out several of the fighters. Ives was injured and being looked after by Francois, the rest of the hired guns were unharmed. As for the Shujaa, the shock of the surprise attack seemed to have worn off, and someone had clearly taken command judging by the organized fighting retreat they were pulling off.

Finally, the Shujaa seemed to have had enough, and withdrew as one into the facility's old parking garage. The remaining able bodied mercenaries took position around the main entrance and waited for movement from within. When several minutes went by with no sign of the militants, Luis and Jones slipped in through separate side entrances. The remaining killers for hire waited as the silence continued, when suddenly shouts and gunfire erupted from within the garage, only to be cut off just as fast.

Soon after, a dreadlocked woman casually strolled out of the entrance brandishing a pair of bloody knives. She looked at the mercenaries with red eyes and smiled. "Hello, boys."

#*#*#

Olivia's world view-While there are some parts of Africa ravaged by war, poverty, and corruption, the continent as a whole isn't as bad as Olivia's making it sound. She's supposed to have an overly dystopian view of things.

Josh's dark side-This is something that just sort of came to me on a whim. Basically, I looked up Josh's bio and there wasn't anything about his early life I could reference. I started thinking of my own explanation and really liked the idea of him being a redeemed monster.


End file.
